"Home Alone has earned its place as an American classic in the canon of A Christmas Story, Elf-and dare I go so far- It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. Both timeless and timely, the film goes way beyond the cartoonish antics of the Wet Bandits and the wily Kevin McCallister left to fend for himself and triumph as the most observant of the McCallister clan."
"Take Kevin's mother, Kate McCallister. It's so easy to view her as the villain-sequestering her child in the attic and forgetting him on Christmas. But when Kate finally returns to claim her son, she showcases all three virtues: the humility to be wrong, the wisdom to show remorse, and the generosity to give up anything to claw her way back to him, no matter what the method, Gus Polinski and his travelling polka band included."
Home Alone is an American Christmas classic alongside A Christmas Story, Elf, It's a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Carol. The film goes beyond cartoonish antics to emphasize three American virtues: humility to admit being wrong, wisdom to listen to the smallest and marginalized, and generosity to help stranded strangers. Kate McCallister embodies these virtues through remorse, sacrifice, and relentless effort to reclaim her son, including hitchhiking and enlisting Gus Polinski's polka band. Kevin's right to be hurt and to forgive is honored. Marley transforms from rumored murderer into a kind neighbor with an angelic granddaughter.
Read at Psychology Today
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